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CryoSat-2

Spacecraft and Launch Vehicles

CryoSat-2 is the European Space Agency satellite that monitors changes in the extent and thickness of polar ice from low Earth orbit. It replaced the original CryoSat, which was lost in a launch failure in October 2005, after ESA agreed in February 2006 to build a copy of the spacecraft. CryoSat-2 was launched on 8 April 2010 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Its main instrument is SIRAL, a radar altimeter that works in three modes: conventional altimetry over oceans and ice sheet interiors, synthetic aperture processing over sea ice, and an interferometric mode around ice sheet margins and mountain glaciers. Unlike the first design it carries a fully duplicated payload so the mission could continue if the radar failed, and it is operated from the European Space Operations Centre in Darmstadt, Germany.

Facts
Comparison
Body Style
Spacecraft 1
Year
2010 1
Connections

Exemplifies

Space Transport, Modes
Source CryoSat (Wikipedia)

Of Make

Airbus Defence and Space, Networks and Operators
Source European Space Agency: CryoSat facts and figures
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Manufactured By

Airbus Defence and Space

Also in Business Atlas: the manufacturer of this subject.

Source European Space Agency: CryoSat facts and figuresPrime contractor
Quote, Prime contractor
Prime Contractor: Astrium GmbH (now Airbus Defence & Space)
Sources
1. CryoSat (Wikipedia)
  • Lead, launch
    The CryoSat-1 spacecraft was lost in a launch failure in 2005, however the programme was resumed with the successful launch of a replacement, CryoSat-2, launched on 8 April 2010.
  • Lead
    CryoSat is an ESA programme to monitor variations in the extent and thickness of polar ice through use of a satellite in low Earth orbit.
  • Exemplifies: Space Transport, Lead, space mission
    CryoSat is an ESA programme to monitor variations in the extent and thickness of polar ice through use of a satellite in low Earth orbit.
View the Source
European Space Agency: CryoSat facts and figures
European Space AgencyOf Make: Airbus Defence and Space, Prime contractor
Quote, Of Make: Airbus Defence and Space, Prime contractor
Prime Contractor: Astrium GmbH (now Airbus Defence & Space)
View the Source
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